South Africa disinvited from G7 in France / Photo: © POOL/AFP/File
South Africa disinvited from G7 in France
South Africa said Thursday it has been excluded from the G7 summit in France in June, after initially being invited, with Pretoria first blaming US pressure on Paris before later backtracking.
The spokesperson for the South African presidency told AFP that President Cyril Ramaphosa was no longer invited to the summit due to boycott threats from Washington, reportedly relayed by Paris.
"We are told that the Americans threatened to boycott the G7 if South Africa was invited," said Vincent Magwenya.
But a few hours later, Ramaphosa said that according to "his information" there had been "no pressure from any country" whether the United States or another.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that his country had "not yielded to any pressure" but had opted for a "streamlined G7," inviting Kenya instead to help prepare France's major Africa summit in Nairobi in May.
Relations between Washington and Pretoria have fractured over a range of issues, from South Africa's genocide case against US ally Israel to President Donald Trump's disputed claims that white Afrikaners are being persecuted.
Trump has clashed repeatedly with the South African government, hitting the country with high tariffs, berating Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over discredited claims of a "white genocide" and boycotting a G20 summit in Johannesburg in November.
Trump slapped 30-percent tariffs last year on most South African exports -- the highest for sub-Saharan Africa. The US Supreme Court has since overruled Trump's tariffs policy.
- G20 snub -
The US president has also criticised South Africa's racial justice policies, enacted to address historic inequalities left by the legacy of colonial rule and apartheid but condemned by the American leader as discriminatory against whites.
The Trump administration has additionally clashed with Ramaphosa's government over South Africa taking Israel to the International Court of Justice for allegedly committing genocide in its war in Gaza.
Since snubbing last year's G20 summit, South Africa has been excluded from the work of the group, for which Washington holds the rotating presidency this year.
It was during that G20 in South Africa that French President Emmanuel Macron personally invited Ramaphosa to take part in the G7, Pretoria recalled.
The Group of Seven industrialised nations often widens its work to other invited countries such as this year Brazil, India and South Korea. South Africa was invited in this way to the G7 organised by Canada in 2025.
"This will have no impact on the strength and close nature of our bilateral relationship with France," the presidency spokesperson said.
"Notwithstanding all of these developments, South Africa remains committed to engage constructively with the US," he said.
"The diplomatic relationship between USA and South Africa predate the Trump administration and they will outlive the current White House term of office."
- New ambassador to US -
Pretoria earlier this month summoned the new US ambassador to explain "undiplomatic remarks" about South African racial policies and court decisions.
In his first public address, conservative envoy Brent Bozell labelled an apartheid-era chant "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer" as "hate speech" and criticised policies meant to empower black South Africans.
While controversial in South Africa, courts have ruled it does not constitute hate speech and should be considered in the context of the struggle against white-minority rule that ended in 1994.
The new ambassador appeared to later backtrack, saying the US government respected the independence and findings of South Africa's judiciary.
A replacement has yet to be named.
On Thursday, the presidency spokesperson said Ramaphosa was "getting closer to appointing the South African ambassador to the US who will form part of the team that's currently engaging with US counterparts".
(N.Loginovsky--DTZ)
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